Horizon

Another Vote for Google Docs here. You can set up different levels of sharing, editing, privacy rights, and people can manage or review on their own schedule. Finally, you are not in a world of hurt when your Treasurer drops out of Scouting and it takes 9 months to get the records from him (BIG problem for my cub pack). Then again, I am huge Cloud Computing proponent (sorry E61!).

Nobody is preventing us from adding competition. I do it all the time in my Troop, with a variety fo rewards: Best meal - Scoutmaster does the dishes Top popcorn sales - Pie in the face to the Scoutmaster Best campsite - Troop provides steaks for dinner 100% Uniform - No cleanup duties after COH etc. Our Camporees are also still competitive. 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place ribbons for Patrols in each event, also for Crews. While the overall "excellence" patch has gotten too common (everyone seems to score an A overall), the competition between events is still very strong. Ea

February. District Camporee is in the first weekend in April, and by bridging they can join their Troop, learn the basic skills, and go to compete. In my my Troop we have a Camporee Prep campout in March were we erase Cub Scout brainwashing, and then the next month they head to Camporee. The great thing is that by competing at Camporee, they have a reason to really nail the skills - and their Patrol has a reason to teach them (heh heh heh - a Game with a Purpose!) But that is what works for our area, I admit. The other great thing is that by joining in February, the boys are more like

DK does raise a good point though - we should also be teaching how to maintain the newer gear. If 2 half and tautline are critical for old tents, replacing guy lines on new tents, etc. then there are also newer skills that should be covered like replacing shock cords on newer style poles, repairing nylon fabric, etc. Perhaps a course on cleaning out liquid fuel stoves as well. Hmm - might have a job for my Venture Crew.

I don't consider most of the T-2-1 skills to be useless if you are going to continue being in the great outdoors. If you aren't going to be in the outdoors, then you don't belong in the Boy Scouts, Venture Scouts or Sea Scouts. The core game that helps our purpose stems from the great outdoors. The basic knots are needed for most shelters, for being able to use a tent that has had a mishap or 3, or for just tying stuff down on the roof of your car when you leave Ikea. Starting a fire with nothing is a great skill, and being able to cook over it even more so. Adding in the need to

We make our own shelters on campouts 2-3 times per year. We bring the poles, ropes and tarps only, and the Scouts have a blast. There are no restrictions on the design, though I wander the site late at night with the SPL and water to "test" their water proof design. We leave the stoves at home 2-3 times per year if possible, forcing everyone to either do dutch oven or campfire cooking. I had a boy grilling bacon recently. Finally, we have the knot board. It has all of the T-2-1 knots and lashings on it, with a piece of rope for every knot. We have time trials, patrol competition

For those of you who would like to play with numbers, CATO (a Libertarian leaning think-tank) has published their various recommendations on how to reduce government spending: http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/ I like the site, as it helps put a lot of the numbers in perspective. Our biggest areas are defense and entitlements. Another good site (and where CATO gets many of their numbers) is the Congressional Budget Office. They had this to say: Trends, 1950 to the Present Spending by the federal government grew from approximately 3 percent of GDP in 1925 to 15.6

I thought I would return to the topic, "how would your troop handle a rumor of a bisexual scout?" Rumor? I would do nothing, though I might watch for any issues of people not wanting to share a tent with the Scout. His statement? I would have a quiet SMC with the Scout, to talk about the risks that come from shouting out certain things. If he then reported the bullying from summer camp, I would pass on that information to the Camp Staff / Council folks. Would I let him run for SPL? Sure I would, and the Troop might or might not respond to the rumor and not vote for him.

I also find the value of Patrol separation here: 1) The Patrol has to work as a team, rather than messing around with other Patrols 2) My non Physically Strong adults don't have the energy to go bothering the Scouts and stay in the adult site drinking their coffee sitting in their chairs. As I have said before, I do my best to keep everyone separated in their Patrols as my environment allows it, while also keeping up enough of a rotation across different locations to keep all Scouts interested (they are the ones that complain when we go back to certain places too soon).

Kudu - I know the 300 feet it is Baden Powells - I just like to give you credit. I will admit that you are the one that reminded me of his words. The Cleveland is OK, but not nearly as clear as you make it out to be. When I add in the adventure that the boys seek, they are best attracted to high peaks. This means permits that cost $5 per person, have to be filed in advance, and camping sites must be designated. This is hitting San Gorgonio and San Bernardino peaks, for example. The Cleveland has some nice places that we have hit, but water can be an issue depending on how far in

There is a reason that National made a data error and pushed FCFY - the data showed that drop outs happen before FC, and if we get the boys to FC then they stay. I personally would hypothesize that instead those boys who stick around and do enough camping to get to FC have decided that they like Boy Scouts. Once you like Boy Scouts and commit the time to it, if you have a good Troop and Council - you can earn the Eagle. Now - in the Summer Camp Thread TAHAWK mentions the increase in the numbers of boys earning Eagle, and that goes along with the drop in boys joining Scouting. That

BadenP: Is there a cite for this statement, "The facts are that overall troops are doing less and less camping, high adventure, backpacking, and other outdoor activities than ever before"? I have not observed that personally - but the plural of anecdote is NOT data. I am curious if there is something from the tour permit database showing that units are not camping as much. The only limitation I deal with is due to my Troop's location in Southern California. Fire bans make it hard to practice fire building and open fire cooking skills for much of the year. Camping limitations

Sorry to hear you went through this. Let me paraphrase my comment to the parents of the boys in my Troop. "Parents. The absolute best way to get your Scout homesick, is to call them or visit. Up until the moment they make contact with you, or see a friend making contact - they are too busy, too engaged to even think about being homesick. However, if you come for a visit or if your Scout somehow makes a phone call - they WILL be homesick at the end of the call. I will then have to have adult leaders and members of the Venture Crew cheer your Scout up. My first year at Summer Cam

Oaktree - rather than a race to tie 5 lashings (though that is what we do at Camporee), how about make your own shelter using each of the lashings and knots and sleep under it for a campout? My Troop does this 2-3 times per year. The tents stay home, and only tarps, ropes and poles make it into the trailer. The Patrols have to build shelters, and they have learned to Be Prepared for a sudden rainstorm during the night. This rainstorm delivered by the Scoutmaster and the SPL with a pair of water bottles, since it does not rain in Southern California. Instead of a test, the whole Tr

packsaddle: In my case, you get the very long, drawn out search of all of your belongings when the little acne swab test shows something. My bags from a trip had enough powder residue, and when I was pulled for the Stridex test (what I call it when they wipe down your bag with the little cotton patch), it was positive. I was able to explain that I had been hunting, and shooting, and reloading. They still unpacked everything, and I got to get up close and personal with a nice man from TSA as well. Luckily, it appears I did NOT make the special list after that, so I don't get

I wonder what the cost of camp would become if every MB class was staffed with an 18 year old or older merit badge counselor, and if no class had more than 10 Scouts. That means no more leaning on "free" CITs whose work is signed off by one area Director, and no packing 30 boys into a class. I don't know how many units would / could pay that much per boy. ------------------- As Scoutmaster I encourage Scouts going to summer camp to take outdoor badges, and to take badges that we don't the resources for locally one way or another. First Aid and E Prep we can handle. Swimming

BadenP: I did read the thread, and this one, and many others on this site where 13 year old Eagles are disparaged. Lets start with this consensus: ""The consensus seemed to be a very academically oriented one with minimal outdoor experiences, missing out on camps, jamborees, high adventure, full participation in OA, etc" I have described my trail. By the time of my Eagle BOR, I had: Camped every month, Attended 3 summer camps (my troop camps with a weekend campout AND summer camp), Trained at the equivalent of NYLT, Went to 1981 National Jamboree, Earned aroun

Pack: I find Basementdwellers attitude as expressed on this forum extremely insulting. Several of us have mentioned that we too are Eagles, Eagle dads, and earned the rank at an early age. Have we heard much in response? No - we have been painted with a broad brush. I chose not to take it. His post even adds a bit of "have you stopped beating your wife" with his junior high level debate style of asking "Horizon......Hitting a bit close to home????????" Now, this is the internet, where people act far worse than they typically do in public. Some here continue down a path of d

basementedweller - you ever earn the Eagle? You come across as one of those jealous types who just can't handle the fact that some people achieve, while others just observe.

Why doesn't one of you define Eagle Mill so that we can properly decide who to throw out of the Brotherhood fo Scouting, or who to shun at Summer Camp. We can even make a nice list to those units we should avoid. Perhaps we can add a scarlet outline on the Eagle knot if someone got their Eagle too early. What a bunch of hogwash. Troops shouldn't be proud of their Eagles? Troops shouldn't provide a complete program that allows a dedicated Scout to Advance and be recognized? I am tempted to tell my Scouts to sit on their applications for Eagle so that some blowhard doesn't sneer

I won't just be non-religious organizations. More churches are looking at their policies regarding gays and lesbians, and changing as well. For example, I don't know how Charters the Covenant Network Presbyterians hold, but at some point they might have a problem too. I know that my church will START a Troop and a Crew the second the BSA allows the Charter Org to follow their faith in applying the Morally Straight clause.

We bridge most of our Scouts in early March, in time for them to compete at Camporee. For the weeks leading up to Camporee, we have Scouts Skills training events during meetings and on Saturdays. By the time our new Scouts hit Camporee, they are skilled up and competing - thereby showing their skills. We also camp monthly, and several campouts during the summer have no tents - the Scouts build shelters using the lashings and knots that they have learned. We add in a backpacking run as well as a site where open fires are still allowed (tough here in So Cal). There we have fire building

We planted flags on Saturday. The graveyard has Veterans interreed going back to the Civil War, and my Scouts attention can be captured through some simple exercises such as finding the oldest grave, the newest grave, and a person from all branches of the military. This gets them reading the stones a little more, and helps lead them to a deeper discussion. On Monday we were part of the presentation of colors for the ceremony itself. We will also often have a MB Counselor for American Heritage who has the boys talk to people as they assemble for Requirement 2 C& D: c.With your

Yep - had to kill the chicken. That and the wild plant salad are two of my best memories from summer camp. The idea of the chicken was to figure out how to kill it, clean it, and SAFELY cook it. Great exercise, even if it was not an actual requirement. I would LOVE to do that with my current troop, but I would need to start with teaching them how to humanely kill a chicken. Note - you can't hang em. (Lord forgive me for the giggles I get when I recall this - it was cruel, but still makes me laugh).

evmori: The key point from the amendment, IMHO, is this one that I quoted "The PC(USA) has no consensus in the interpretation of Scripture on issues of same-sex practice."